Fischer Edit/FX Blog

“Me First” Edited by JoLynn Garnes for Nexxus from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) Minneapolis, Minn.: Fischer Edit, a creative editorial and post-production house works with Campbell Mithun, Motion 504 and Modern Music on Nexxus’ latest television campaign.
Editor JoLynn Garnes cuts “Me First” for product Dualiste, the newest spot from Nexxus. Needing considerable effects and color for the model’s hair, Campbell Mithun called on broadcast design studio Motion 504 for help. While there designer Scott Wenner and producer Eric Mueller suggested getting Garnes in as the editor. She explains, “the interesting thing is, usually it seems like the editor gets hired first…[but]…they said ‘we want to work with JoLynn’.” Wenner and Garnes had many years experience working with each other, “I’ve known Scott since the beginning of my career as an editor. We worked together for almost five years. I haven’t been able to work with him since then, so it was fun to get together again,” tells Garnes.

Fischer Edit/FX acted as host to Campbell Mithun’s team including creative director, Nicole Ackmann, producer Lisa Thotland, copywriter Peggy Arnson and art director, John Conroy throughout the span of the project. As editing began, Garnes already had some stills created by the director that were much greener than even the footage taken. The spots were filmed in Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain with international talent. Inevitably the color was dialed back to the vibrant blue seen in the final version.

Hair at this level of detail wasn’t something Garnes had done before. “It was the first time where I had to overly pay attention to hair. I had to change my point of view of hair and recognize what would be an easy shot for them to clean up. These kinds of spots are challenging because you have to have it just right.”

For music, Campbell Mithun worked with Modern Music’s Daron Walker, the team was looking for a “sort of stripped down beat heavy track that was more atmospheric than safe.” Walker created a track that meshed well with the mood and visuals on screen.

Playing host to Motion 504 and Campbell Mithun throughout this process was a great opportunity for Fischer Edit/FX. About the team at Motion 504, Garnes notes, “it’s always good and fun to have that group all together again.”

Inspired by the memorable openings of “The Simpsons”, Burger King Kids’ latest campaign proved to need comic timing from Fischer Edit’s Brian Slater and visual effects finesse from Fischer Edit/FX’s Jake Parker. As Visual Effects Supervisor for “The Roof/Simpsons” Parker attended the Hollywood shoot to oversee production and provide some leeway for the enhancements that would need to be made in post. In the spot as a brother and sister eat their Burger King Kids meal while playing with their new toys, their Dad, Grandpa, Mom and family dachshund drop through the ceiling onto the couch.

On set, the adults were outfitted with climbing harnesses and safety wires to protect them. Initially Parker thought it would be mass chaos as all three tried to land at once, but the crew managed to perfectly choreograph each descent, doing all three in one take. To get things just right however, the cast ended up spending half the day just improving the fall. “It was pretty hard on them…especially Grandpa,” Parker says of watching the actors work.

The dog-falling gag required its own special technique. Rigging the small dog was prohibitive since the rigging gear would end up obscuring too much of the dog. Of course, dropping him from the ceiling would be legally (and morally) prohibited as well.  The solution was to drop the dog a very short distance (about 6-8 inches) on a very soft foam pad. Both the dog owner and the ASPCA were comfortable with that approach. The problem, Parker noted was that upon landing, the dog’s feet sunk into the foam and essentially disappeared. He was able to get the dog’s trainer to drop the dog from one inch above a hard surface in order to get the shot of the dog’s feet without any warping of the surface.

Once in post, Parker repeated the three inch fall shot from the ceiling to just above the table, then he combined the footage from the three inch and one inch falls to get the dog’s landing. Because there was a combination of the dog’s feet sinking and standing, Parker first tried to “glue” feet from other takes onto the dog, but using composited pieces of debris where his feet disappear ended up working better and made it into the final edit.

Rig removal, additional debris and particle dust was also needed on the actor’s shots. On set a small amount of debris was dropped with every fall but it didn’t carry the kind of effect needed. Parker used some raw element footage of debris and dust falling with debris rotoscoped (read: cut out) from other takes to drop into the scene. These extra pieces plunked down on the actor’s heads, all accurately missing the kid’s meals, made it into the final edit. Formerly of Fischer FX, Tony Mills lent Parker a hand with rig removal, cleaning up all the green wires and rotoscoping out their harnesses. The plaid flannel in the dad’s shirt was particularly challenging as the rigging wire lay across his shirt pulling and rippling the pattern. To fix this, Mills applied a matte and made a composite of the cloth eliminating the wire and easing the wrinkling in that area.

In the end, the grandpa stole the show with some improvisation about it raining. Parker added rain and synced up the lightning flashes to make it appear real. This ad for the Burger King Kids campaign from Campbell Mithun required a lot of work from Fischer Edit/FX but in the end conveys the humor and believability that existed in its initial conception.

Take a look at “Simpsons/The Roof” here or to view other Burger King Kids spots, click here:

Burger King Kids “Simpson’s/Wii” from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

Burger King Kids “Wii/Bees” from Fischer Edit on Vimeo.

It’s true we really are moving. Take a look below at some of the pictures illustrating the framework being put up in our new space to contain Fischer Edit/FX, Modern Music and Runner Runner (complete with a new production space).

We’ll keep updating the space as it comes together in Minneapolis’ Warehouse District, check out our photos from April and May for updates.

Students from Minneapolis’ Miami Ad School took a break from classes last month to drop by Fischer Edit/FX’s studios and learn about our work and how post-production fits together with the agency world. The group comprised of both first and second year students toured the space and met our editors, producers and visual effects artists. They asked some great questions and we’d love to seem them again soon.

Since it’s better to hear it from them anyway, take a look at the Miami Ad School blog where they have photos and commentary from their afternoon with us.